NBC’s popular singing competition show, The Voice, averages well over 10 million viewers an episode. However, the network has noticed the big dropoff in the ratings between the early rounds on the hit show, when competitors give blind auditions while the judges hide behind big red chairs, and the series’ later rounds, when contestants “battle” with one another. Because of this, NBC has decided to shake things up with the format during Season 3 by introducing something producers are calling “The Steal.”
“The Steal” is about as explicit as it seems. According to executive producer Mark Burnett, when the contestants are competing in the battle rounds, instead of the coach choosing one contestant to stay and one to head home, the other judges will have the opportunity to hit their big red buzzer and nab the person the other coach is about to send packing. Since Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, and Adam Levine will all be able to nab two extra contestants to bring over to their team, this could bring each team’s total up to 10. It also means that when a battle round is really close, one of the competent competitors won’t necessarily get screwed.
If the judges take advantage of their two extra contestants—and why wouldn’t they—NBC might be partially using the new format as an excuse to add a few episodes to the dock. Deadline is reporting producers initially wanted to find a way to add some more initial spinning chair episodes at the beginning of the season; now they really seem to be hoping “The Steal” will be enough of a gimmick to bring in that extra 5 million or so viewers on board for some of the later episodes. I’m not sure if it will be enough, but I’m really happy that some of the contestants could get a second chance if they do produce that close battle round.
